A Time of Evil!

Having seized the Odin-Ring, Loki has not taken over the throne of Asgard. Although none may oppose him, Thor still tries to fight back against his half-brother. Unfortunately, Odin orders Thor to stand down, saying that all must follow the rule of law, even the All-Father himself. As long as Loki wears the Odin-Ring they must follow his bidding. When Thor calls his father a coward, Odin lashes out by magically erasing his mouth. However, he quickly undoes this spell when he realizes he lashed out in anger. When Loki orders Odin to enter the Odinsleep, the All-Father complies.

Thor still refuses to give up without a fight and tries attacking Loki. Unfortunately, with the added power of the Odin-Ring, Loki is able to fend off his eternal foe. When Sif pleads with Balder to help, the warrior explains he can do nothing now that he has pledge his allegiance to Karnilla, who is now Loki’s ally.[1] Sif then tries attacking Loki herself but the trickster grows to titanic size and grabs her. He promises to stop attacking Thor if she agrees to be his queen. Sif naturally refuses and Thor unleashes an onslaught of lightning bolts to try and strike Loki down.

Loki resumes his normal size and decides to amuse himself further by creating a pair of floating gauntlets to attack his half-brother. Thor finds himself outmatched, especially since the gauntlets can lift and use his enchanted hammer, Mjolnir. When Sif pleads with Loki to stop this, he decides to amuse himself further by returning the Warriors Three from the distant planet he exiled them on during his coup. Although the Warriors Three join Thor in earnest, they do little to help stop the enchanted gauntlets. The battle is quickly ended when Karnilla complains about how crude this method of destroying their foes is. Loki agrees and after immobilizing Thor and his allies, has Karnilla create a powerful being to destroy his enemies.

He then uses the Odin-Ring to gives the creature — dubbed Durok the Demolisher — with life, but bereft of emotion or a soul. He then frees Thor who tries to attack the creature, but his most powerful blows have no effect on Durok. Loki then teleports his creation to Earth to go on a rampage. As Thor takes off to defend his adopted home, Loki is convinced that Thor’s utter destruction will only be a matter of time.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Loki, Odin, Sif, Balder, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Karnilla, Durok the Demolisher

Continuity Notes

1. Balder pledged his life to Karnilla in an attempt to protect Thor from Hela’s embrace. See Thor #189.